Make Zack a Local Hero

You can help an amazing young, disabled man win a wheelchair van.

My name is Zack Pollack. I’m 20 years old and a junior at Emerson High School. I’ve been challenged by Cerebral Palsy since birth. I am a quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair, I’ve lost most of the function in my arms and legs, and I have difficulty reading and doing arithmetic, but I am a bright, personable, optimistic, friendly person. I consider myself to be articulate, and I am dedicated to inspiring people – particularly young people – and motivating them to be better human beings.

When I was younger I underwent several surgeries, including an extensive and very risky 10-hour spinal surgery in 2008 to correct a severe curvature in my spine. The difficulties I endured prior to, during and immediately after my surgery were life threatening. However, I survived and recovered, and during my long and difficult recovery, I had an “aha” moment where I realized something. I realized that life isn’t just about living; it’s about living with a purpose. If you believe in your strengths, your weaknesses will disappear and your strengths will prevail. It’s not about what you can or can’t do; it’s about how you do it.

It’s important to believe that your strengths can turn your dreams to reality if you let them shine through and work hard to achieve your goals. I feel my purpose in life is to motivate people to believe in themselves regardless of their hardships and to persevere with their dreams. With this belief you can overcome your difficulties and achieve anything you put your mind to.

So with encouragement from my friends and family, in January 2013 I decided to begin a "pro bono" public speaking career. I have spoken to many different schools, including numerous elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and college classes. I visit inner-city schools, I speak to students considered “at risk,” and I also speak at private schools. I have spoken to assemblies of several hundred students, as well as small groups in classrooms. I have spoken at political fundraisers, synagogue dinners, and other “adult” events besides school presentations. I speak about a number of themes, including inclusion of people with disabilities; extending friendship and help to all classmates; stopping the pervasive problem of bullying; the power of positive thinking; never giving up; the importance of education; and the importance of Faith. I emphasize that I love my life.

Even though I have CP and I am wheelchair bound, I’ve done some great things in my life and had many amazing experiences. I spent five years learning my Haftorah for my Bar Mitzvah in 2006, which was a tremendous, community-wide celebration. More recently, pushed in my wheelchair by my best friend Michael, I completed the 2011 ING (Half) Marathon held in Miami, Florida as part of a group dedicated to helping people with special needs. I earned a gold medal, helped raise money for Camp HASC, and was the subject of an NBC television news story. I also completed the 2012 Miami Rock-n-Roll Marathon and 2013 Bahamas half-Marathon, to raise money for an amazing organization called Kids of Courage, an amazing all-volunteer organization dedicated to helping disabled youngsters and young people suffering from serious illness, attend special travel camps and weekend getaways. As part of Kids of Courage, “campers” travel across the country each summer to experience life and to learn to live with more independence, as part of an 8-day adventure; in 2013 we went to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We have also been to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Vermont, and are planning our next trip, to San Diego.

I am also part of an organization called Yachad. This national group is dedicated to inclusion, and brings mainstream students together with their severely challenged peers, for frequent weekend getaways and parties. In 2012 I was fortunate to visit Israel and spend the summer traveling throughout that beautiful country, making lifelong friends and memories, with a division of Yachad known as Yad B’Yad.

Here is a video about me:

FROM ZACK’S FATHER: ZACK NEEDS YOUR HELP

Our amazing son Zack was born three months pre-mature and he spent months in the neo-natal intensive care unit, defying the odds to survive. My wife had suddenly developed a condition known as pre-eclampsia, and Zack had to be delivered immediately. Before the delivery, the non-Jewish obstetrician actually took me aside and told me the baby was sure to have serious difficulties and if I wanted, she could make sure the baby didn't survive. I angrily told her if the baby didn't survive I would report her, and she immediately changed her attitude and began trying her best to save our son.

When Zack was born, all my close relatives were still alive and I had no one to name him after. We named him after the millions of Jews who died during the Holocaust who never had anyone named after them. Hence, the name Zechariah, which means "God's remembrance."

Zack needs your help. He is entered into the National Mobility Awareness Month Local Hero contest, a national online voting contest, to win a needed new wheelchair van. He is asking that you show him your support by voting for him online. Here is the website with link to registration and voting: www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com.

When you go to the website, click on either "vote now" at the top of the page, or "vote for your local hero" towards the bottom, you will see "Find a Local Hero," and then type in Pollack in the last name search box and hit search. Zack's photo and story should immediately come up. Next to the photo is an orange box with "login" and "vote now." Each email address that registers is allowed to vote once per day. Registering is quick and easy and only has to be done one time; you will be emailed a password which your computer or smartphone should remember for future voting (check your spam if you do not get the emailed password). Voting can also be done through Facebook. Once you have logged in search again for Zack's photo, click on it and then click on the box in the middle of the voting section that says "bonus question." Answering this question about mobility issues correctly each day, gives each voter an extra vote.

After answering the bonus question (hopefully correctly!) proceed to check the type of voter (for example family/friend) and then click to register your vote for Zack. Please consider taking a moment from your day, to enter a daily vote for him, each day through May 9th. Also, your help in forwarding this link to your friends and family would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone interested in arranging for Zack to speak at their school or function should contact his father, Larry Pollack, at LMPatty@aol.com.

About the Author

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 8

(8)
Zack Pollack,
June 17, 2014 1:02 AM

Thank you for your support

Thank you everyone who voted for me and thanks so much, Aish.com, for all your help in publicizing my story. I didn't win but it was a good effort, B"H

(7)
GiIladys Schwarz,
April 8, 2014 1:03 AM

Being disabled makes one appreciate what you can do, it is a mindset that we must cultivate. you are a model for all of us and for me, i will think of your love and courage whenever the details get me down. my thanks Zack, and GOD BLESS YOU.

(6)
jacob,
April 7, 2014 12:37 AM

Watch the video!

Baruch Hashem! the video is amazing and touching. You are a hero!

(5)
Anonymous,
April 7, 2014 12:33 AM

Hope you will win!

Cast my vote for you, and urge others to do so as well!

Your story is very inspiring, because unlike most people you live your life with a clear purpose.

(4)
Anonymous,
April 6, 2014 9:26 PM

PLEASE continue to vote every day for Zack!!!!!!

(3)
Michael,
April 6, 2014 8:28 AM

Your a shining star Zack.

You got my vote young man. You are truly a blessing to humanity. My G-d keep bestowing his blessing upon you and your beloved family.Thank you AISH for putting this article on your most loved site. May G-d bless Israel, all Jews, and the fine people at AISH.com

(2)
Rachel,
April 3, 2014 3:31 PM

Make Zack A Hero

Zack, I love your story. Your kindness & great outlook in life. Thank you for sharing your story. From one disabled to another love & G-d's blessings & Mercy.

My nephew is having his bar mitzvah and I am thinking of a gift. In the old days, the gift of choice was a fountain pen, then a Walkman, and today an iPod. But I want to get him something special. What do you suggest?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Since this event celebrates the young person becoming obligated in the commandments, the most appropriate gift is, naturally, one that gives a deeper understanding of the Jewish heritage and enables one to better perform the mitzvot! (An iPod, s/he can get anytime.)

With that in mind, my favorite gift idea is a tzedakah (charity) box. Every Jew should have a tzedakah box in his home, so he can drop in change on a regular basis. The money can then be given to support a Jewish school or institution -- in your home town or in Israel (every Jews’ “home town”). There are beautiful tzedakah boxes made of wood and silver, and you can see a selection here.

For boys, a really beautiful gift is a pair of tefillin, the black leather boxes which contain parchments of Torah verses, worn on the bicep and the head. Owning a pair of Tefillin (and wearing them!) is an important part of Jewish identity. But since they are expensive (about $400), not every Bar Mitzvah boy has a pair. To make sure you get kosher Tefillin, see here.

In 1944, the Nazis perpetrated the Children's Action in the Kovno Ghetto. That day and the next, German soldiers conducted house-to-house searches to round up all children under age 12 (and adults over 55) -- and sent them to their deaths at Fort IX. Eventually, the Germans blew up every house with grenades and dynamite, on suspicion that Jews might be in hiding in underground bunkers. They then poured gasoline over much of the former ghetto and incinerated it. Of the 37,000 Jews in Kovno before the Holocaust, less than 10 percent survived. One of the survivors was Rabbi Ephraim Oshri, who later published a stirring collection of rabbinical responsa, detailing his life-and-death decisions during the Holocaust. Also on this date, in 1937, American Jews held a massive anti-Nazi rally in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

In a letter to someone who found it difficult to study Torah, the 20th century sage the Chazon Ish wrote:

"Some people find it hard to be diligent in their Torah studies. But the difficulty persists only for a short while - if the person sincerely resolves to submerge himself in his studies. Very quickly the feelings of difficulty will go away and he will find that there is no worldly pleasure that can compare with the pleasure of studying Torah diligently."

Although actions generally have much greater impact than thoughts, thoughts may have a more serious effect in several areas.

The distance that our hands can reach is quite limited. The ears can hear from a much greater distance, and the reach of the eye is much farther yet. Thought, however, is virtually limitless in its reach. We can think of objects millions of light years away, and so we have a much greater selection of improper thoughts than of improper actions.

Thought also lacks the restraints that can deter actions. One may refrain from an improper act for fear of punishment or because of social disapproval, but the privacy of thought places it beyond these restraints.

Furthermore, thoughts create attitudes and mindsets. An improper action creates a certain amount of damage, but an improper mindset can create a multitude of improper actions. Finally, an improper mindset can numb our conscience and render us less sensitive to the effects of our actions. We therefore do not feel the guilt that would otherwise come from doing an improper act.

We may not be able to avoid the occurrence of improper impulses, but we should promptly reject them and not permit them to dwell in our mind.

Today I shall...

make special effort to avoid harboring improper thoughts.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...